Australian space industry warns about possible Chinese satellite surveillance

The warning comes as Australia’s Defense Space Command says it is working on a plan to acquire so-called soft-kill technology to take out enemy satellites, reports Voice of America.

James Brown, the head of the trade group the Space Industry Association of Australia, told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. as quoted by VOA on Saturday that China has a vast space monitoring system.

“I think people just do not realize that every day we are being listened to and surveilled by Chinese satellites that are only 100 to 200 kilometers above our heads, and China is launching hundreds of them a year and we are seeing more and more of that activity," Brown said.

The United States early last month shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the country's east coast.

The US had claimed that the balloon was spying on sensitive military sites across North America.